1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of access control and remote identity verification, in particular, utilizing biometric technology.
2. Related Art
Access control systems are used to limit access to selected individuals.
Some of these systems use biometric technologies to determine whether access for an individual will be granted or denied. A biometric is a unique, measurable characteristic or trait of a human being for automatically recognizing or verifying identity. For instance, fingerprint biometrics are largely regarded as an accurate method of biometric identification and verification. See, e.g., Roethenbaugh, G. Ed., Biometrics Explained (International Computer Security Association: Carlisle, Pa. 1998), pages 1-34, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Access control units (ACUs) may be placed locally to perform a biometric analysis on the individual, and determine whether access will be granted or denied. As the number of people needing access to facilities grows, so must be any database holding their biometric information. Eventually, this will become a prohibitive aspect of access control because of the cost, both in equipment and updating time, required to maintain an ever increasing amount of stored biometric data.
What is needed is a system utilizing a device that stores data for an unlimited number of enrollees allowing easy scalability. Also, a system is needed that utilizes a device that allows for easy updating of stored biometric information to keep all information current for all enrollees.